KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The UMKC women’s soccer team (6-2) rode a pair of early goals and a strong defensive effort to seal up a 4-2 victory over Creighton (3-4) at Durwood Stadium on Monday night.

The Roos wasted little time in getting their scoring started for the night, striking for their first goal just under three minutes into play in the first half. Fresh off her second career hat trick and a WAC Offensive Player of the Week award, Kelsey Mothershead(Smithville, Mo.) took possession inside the box off a Creighton turnover and craftily chipped a pass ahead to Lexie Howard(Kearney, Mo.). With only the keeper to beat, Howard sent a shot into the right side of the net for a 1-0 edge at the 2:56 mark on her third goal of the season.

UMKC hit the scoreboard quickly after on a beautiful display of ball movement. After settling into a possession in the offensive zone, Howard sent a pass from the middle of the field to Rylan Childers(Grain Valley, Mo.) working the left side. Childers dropped off a pass to her older sister Reighan Childers(Grain Valley, Mo.) who made a quick move toward the box and fired a missile into the upper right corner to extend the lead in the 9’.

“Tonight was another outstanding performance for our team in pulling off another win against very quality opponent,” noted head coach Chris Cissell. “It’s always a question of how focused and sharp you can come out immediately after a big win but the team put those doubts to rest.”

Following a Creighton score in the 30’, the Roos found a quick answer to regain a two-goal advantage. After an Amanda Sampson(Lee’s Summit, Mo.) shot was tipped out of play by a Bluejay defender, Reighan Childers sent a beautiful corner kick into the box where Sampson would redirect the ball with a brilliant header to the far post at the 34:33 mark.

UMKC kept up their strong play into the second half as they kept their foot on the pedal and continued to work themselves into promising scoring opportunities. Their hard work would pay off in the 59’ as Howard took another step it etching her legacy on the program. Aided by Mothershead’s second assist of the night, a pass ahead to a streaking Howard down the left side of the field was collected and fired past the Creighton keeper rushing out to shut down the breakaway.

Howard’s second goal of the night, coming at the 58:43 mark, was her fifth of the season and also moved the senior forward into a tie for first place in UMKC program history with 32 career goals. Her 80 career points also ranks as most all time in UMKC career history.

The historic goal wrapped up scoring for the Roos as the team walked away with a dominant 4-2 victory. UMKC finished the match with a 15-11 edge in shots and a 9-4 advantage in shots on goal, scoring their seventh goal over their previous two matches. Additionally, 21 players saw extended minutes for the Roos, allowing the team to keep fresh legs headed into a challenging weekend.

“Overall, I am very pleased with our performance across the board tonight,” commented Cissell. “Being able to get all 21 players into the match for significant minutes while still being able to control the pace was huge for our team as we move forward in the schedule.”

Freshman goalkeeper Afton Fennewald(Lake Winnebago, Mo.) earned the start between the posts and improved her record to 4-0 on the season, making a pair of saves in the winning effort.

Mothershead and Childers’ two-assist nights also moved the senior duo up the UMKC program leaderboard. Childers’ two assists bumped her career total to 17, which is tied for most in program history. Mothershead is now up to 28 goals and 70 assists, trailing second place by just two in both categories.

The Roos continue their three-game home stand this weekend with a pair of marquee matches to conclude nonconference play at Durwood Stadium in 2018. The team will host Iowa State on Friday, Sep. 14 at 7 p.m. CT before squaring off with Oklahoma State on Sunday, Sep. 16 at 1 p.m. CT.